Christmas Tag.

Merry Christmas!

It’s December! Yeah, believe it or not, it’s here. Christmas is a pretty busy time for the blogger, what with Christmas hauls, Party Season Tutorials, even some yummy Christmas decorations, just to name a few. However I can’t let Christmas go by without a Christmas tag so to save time I’m getting mine in quick so I can keep up to date with all of the festive events as they happen. So, you may notice that this isn’t the big 2012 tag, it’s not the winterlicious either – I’m a sucker for tradition so I thought I’d go for a tag that circulated a few years ago, just to give you all a bit of variety. 

Onwards and upwards we go:

What is your favourite holiday movie? 

The cool part of me – if there is one - wants to say The Nightmare Before Christmas because it’s just magical, and a little bit crazy. But, as is unfortunately true, I am no such ultimately cool person so the truth is it’s the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34^th Street because let’s face it, Mara Wilson was soooo cute when she was little and it’s just such a ridiculously festive film.

What’s your favourite Christmas colour? 

Red. Just red. Red everything. Oh, and some green, Christmas tree green…. And a bit of gold. Christmas is just a very colourful time of year for me but I can’t pick just one colour. Red, green and gold – that’s a combo that makes me feel traditional and festive.

Do you like to stay in your PJ’s or dress up for Christmas? 

PJ’s. I’ve been known to have a shower, and then put my pyjamas back on. If there’s one day of the year I’m allowed to be lazy its Christmas. Sometimes we go for a walk after lunch; I’ll get changed if we go out, but mostly its pyjamas, hot chocolate and maybe even a hot water bottle.

If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be? 

Me! Only kidding.  A toughie! Seeing as I’ve already bought half my presents I’m going to act like I was asked this back in January or something. Seeing as I’m signed up for the Secret Santa, I guess to be fair to my friends and family, because I love them all equally I would probably just buy for my blogger, whoever they may be.

Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? 

Well I don’t know about you but Christmas is just way to exciting to open presents and then go to bed! We’ve always opened our presents on Christmas morning… well except when I was little and I just couldn’t wait until the next day so my Mom would let me open a little one early. Or there was the year that my Mom thought I wouldn’t find my Christmas presents if she hid them... wait for it... UNDER MY BED! Needless to say, Christmas definitely came early that year.

Have you ever built a gingerbread house? 

No! I want to though, every year I say I’m going to make one, but then the Christmas chocolate kicks in and we all know how lazy that makes us. I am however making gingerbread Christmas tree decorations, which of course you will be making with me. Recipe and some baking pictures hitting TopKatTV on December 23^rd. Don’t miss those!

What do you like to do on your Christmas break? 

Walk. A lot. I usually have a lot of work to do over Christmas (Santa’s little elf, you see.) revision for exams tends to keep my indoors so anything to get outside when the weathers at that really crisp but sunny stage is a huge treat. I also love attending the big light switch on and the Christmas fairs. Unfortunately work has meant I had to forgo most of the festivities this year. 

Any Christmas wishes? 

Well I’ll be boxing up my mistletoe that’s for sure! I prefer wishes that actually will come true so I usually just hope for a good Christmas day, because it’s the one day you can just be happy without thinking about how much the whole holiday is costing and whether you’ll get snowed in.

Favourite Christmas smell?

Cinnamon and that mulled wine spice smell. I also love those dried oranges with cloves stuck in them. We’ve just bought a mulled wine fruit tea and it smells divine. Anyone wanting to join in with that should head over to Whittards... to make Christmas truly special.

Favourite Christmas meal or treat?

Well, the meal is clearly Christmas dinner! Treat wise I think Christmas pudding because you don’t really have it any other time of year so that makes it really special and indulgent. Plus you end up eating it with cheese for months to come.

Which holiday do you celebrate? 

Erm, Christmas?

What are you doing for the holiday this year? 

Same as per really. Christmas with the family, my grandparents are spending Christmas with us as they have been for the last few years. I really like a big family Christmas, although I do feel sorry for poor old Mom who, despite our attempts to help, still somehow ends up running around after us all.

What’s your favourite holiday drink?

That has to be Baileys. It’s just so warm and makes you want to snuggle up in front of a fire, even if it is served on the rocks. If you’re not a liqueur person then try adding a splash of Baileys to your festive hot chocolate.

Candy cane or gingerbread men? 

I haven’t actually noticed if we have more gingerbread around at this time of year in England. We tend to have candy canes in the house because my Mom doesn’t like ginger but I would prefer gingerbread. Hence why I’m making some. I’m also going to be making an orange version of the decoration for Mom, I will include that recipe with my gingerbread one.

What’s your favourite Christmas song? 

If I’m feeling a vintage Christmas then it’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I can’t deny though that I grew up with All I Want For Christmas so I can’t ignore that either. I don’t usually like Christmas songs that are released now but I did really like Train’s Christmas Time last year. Dare I say it as well, I wasn’t completely horrified by Justin Beiber’s offering to the Christmas scene either, but don’t hold it against me!

What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever received? 

Hmm, for Christmas I don’t actually know. I’ve received things that seem weird now, like a wizard cookery book, but at the time I was really into Harry Potter- not that I don’t still hold a love for it – and cooking. My Mom bought me a mixing bowl I really wanted once, which she broke! And I have also noticed since it is the same bowl used in Downton Abbey (It’s from Sainsbury’s. Yup, all that vintage magic ruined.) She wasn’t very happy when she asked me what my favourite present was, looking at the pile of CD’s and a new pair of curlers and I said my mixing bowl. Moral of the story, never become a chef.

Have you ever made a snowman? 

Of course. It wasn’t a very artistic snowman and I usually get too cold to finish it by the time I’ve done the body. It’s about then that I realise the carrots are all being used for Christmas dinner, the stones are buries under the snow, and in the modern age, not many people have lumps of coal lying around that are just perfect eye size.

What is your favourite winter fragrance? 

I don’t really have one. I usually get a bottle of Christina Aguilera for my birthday and Christmas but the most festive scents I have are Ed Hardy’s Hard Candy and La Perla. I have recently added my Roberto Cavalli perfume, which I will be reviewing soon, along with many other scents in my perfume collections.

What is top of your Christmas list? 

Curlers! When mine broke I brought some new Remington ones but they’ve never compared to my beautiful Mark Hill ones. They’re also on sale in Boots, hint hint to Santa.

What is the most important thing to you about the holidays? 

Time off? No, in seriousness it’s what I said before; it’s just that one day a year where you can put everything aside and enjoy the day. No fuss. Just family.

I’ve just noticed that this tag is over a thousand words. If only it were so easy to write my thousand word English essays… oh well.

Happy holidays everyone. Wherever you are I hope you’re enjoying whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year. Have fun.

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad!

Joyeux Noel!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Buon Natale!

P.S. Yeah, I may have run out of ones I can do on an English keyboard.

My bookshelf.

 

 Hello! 

Now as you all know I am of course a beauty addict but today I felt like deviating a bit and taking you on a tour of my bookshelf over the past few months. I want to share with you the books I've read, the next book on my list and the ones I've loved, or in some cases, not loved. 

I'm planning on seeing Great Expectations this week and whilst watching the trailer with the beautiful Jeremy Irvine I was reminded of how much I loved Now Is Good.  You can imagine how disappointed I was to find out it doesn't come out on DVD until January! I remembered that I wanted to read the book after I'd seen the film so onto Amazon I went and downloaded it to my tablet. Republished for the films released as Now Is Good, this book by Jenny Downham was originally published as Before I Die in 2007.

Before I Die follows leukaemia victim Tessa Scott on a downward spiral as she attempts to do all of the things on her bucket list before she dies. Tessa's character is a typical sixteen year old with an attitude to match and most of the comedy comes from her antics and the quick wit of the characters. 

I've really enjoyed the simplicity of this book. It's very much an internal monologue and becomes very dreamy as Tessa's condition worsens. My only slight disappointment is that I didn't read this before seeing the film. For me the adaption of this was really beautiful and funny but as it turns out there are some major differences in personality, especially in the case of Tessa's boyfriend Adam who is very different in the film version. Whilst aspects of his personality add realism in the book it doesn't always work on a romantic level. 

Summary, treat this book as a relationship study and a girls life experience, not a romance. Secondly, see the book as a separate entity to the book as they are very similar in plot but remarkable different in tone. 

Either way, both are very good and particularly inspiring. Take a look: 

So my next book, and it's awful to say I love this but if you're feeling like some Gothic fairy tales then Angela Carter is just doing her thing in her collection of short stories: The Bloody Chamber. Anyone doing A level English Literature will be familiar with the, erm, at some times blunt but flowery at the same time style that Carter uses throughout the collection. Carter is insistent that she isn't rewriting fairy tales but let's face it, these are just the Brother's Grimm all over again, except very well written. With tales inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and a whole load of other folktales The Bloody Chamber is a somewhat gruesome take on our childhood fantasies. It's not your usual read, but if you're not afraid of a bit of gore then these are well worth a read.  

Carrying on with my slightly Gothic tastes, I always wanted to read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill so when I found out they were going to make a film I though I'd get in quick and read it before I saw it. For those who have seen the film, much like Now Is Good there are some major plot changes that I don't really care for. The novel is much more realistic and manages to hold that same suspenseful tension throughout before culminating in an almost sarcastic ending. When I brought my copy from Waterstones I splashed out on a lovely special edition (which you can see in the picture) with little sketches inside at the start of each chapter. Hill's writing style is very very eloquent and it really feels like every line counts. I couldn't put this book down. It wasn't too chilling but really made you think about karma and the afterlife. For a look at The Woman In Black (film version) for a general plot summary then here you go:

This last book is one that I'm planning on reading but haven't yet. I more want to know about your thoughts. I got The Night Circus written by Erin Morgenstern for Christmas last year and still haven't gotten around to reading it. I was intrigued by the beautiful front cover and decided I had to have it. Besides, who doesn't like a circus!

If you have read it, let me know what you thought.

Say goodbye to my bookshelf.

Tah raaa!